


Gambled Sand

by Aziord



Category: Naruto
Genre: Gen, Written for a Challenge, obito and kakashi bicker a lot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-03
Updated: 2018-05-03
Packaged: 2019-05-01 12:13:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,315
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14520333
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aziord/pseuds/Aziord
Summary: "Your team has been sent on an S rank mission to a secret laboratory of Orochimaru's in the desert near the Village Hidden in the Sand. You and your team has been given a hot air balloon as a mode of transport, however, a huge sandstorm comes and you and your team have been transported to a very different location from where you began. What do you do?"A story in which Obito, Kakashi, and Tobirama are in the most unlikely situation possible.





	Gambled Sand

**Author's Note:**

> so uhhh I should preface that this was written as a chuunin exam entry for the Naruto Amino a while ago, and you can see the prompt I was given in the summary. However, unlike other teams comprised of OCs and such, my team and I were themed after hokage - Tobirama, Kakashi, and Godaime Obito, namely. I... really had to bend canon to somehow get them in the same time period, so hopefully this doesn't read too weird.
> 
> This may also read a bit rushed in the end because i was up until 1 in the morning trying to finish it before time was called for the exam so... I didnt have the time to write everything I wanted.
> 
> I also took the liberty to express a lot about tobirama's character because NA likes to warp his character which just kind of makes me the physical embodiment of the gun emoji
> 
> (If you were wondering though, all three of us passed the chuunin exams. We were the only team to have all three people to pass.)

Tobirama stared down at their deflated hot air balloon, expression nonplussed as he examined the scene.

“I would state that I told you so, but neither of you are my brother. I’m surprised you two even agreed to taking something as impractical as this.”

Gesturing with a hand, Tobirama made a vague motion toward the balloon in question before turning his eyes on the other two, an eyebrow raised in question.

“Well,” Kakashi began, glancing at the other to his side, “The Nidaime does have a point. We could have Kamui’d here, Obito.”

Obito sighed, turning his back to the other two as he observed the sand for miles around. “That wouldn’t have worked. The area we’re looking for is somewhere outside of Suna, but we don’t know exactly where. If I just Kamui’d us into the desert outside of Suna, we’d be lost for quite some time.”

“We’re already lost in the desert outside of Suna,” Kakashi commented with a deadpan expression.

“Kamui wouldn’t have helped and you know it,” Obito retorted, voice laced with a snarky undertone as he absently tugged his eyepatch lower down his face.

Certainly, Tobirama was at a loss to just what these other two were talking about. He had Saru brief him very minimally on these younger shinobi. “Kamui? I assume this is similar to my Hiraishin?”

Kakashi turned his gaze back to the Nidaime before nodding. “It’s our Mangekyō.”

The Senju blinked at the use of ‘our.’ Interesting.

Checking that the two alive shinobi still had their sealing containers packed on them, Tobirama set pace to the North. His Hiraishin mark was still active in Suna, but it wouldn’t bode well to teleport straight the to the other village, especially with a reanimated Hokage. This ‘Orochimaru’ was only a Konoha problem for now, it seemed.

“I have questions for you two. Follow along. The balloon is useless at this point.”

Behind Tobirama, Obito and Kakashi shared a twin look before Obito turned towards the hot air balloon, reaching down to touch a section of it before he Kamui’d it into a separate dimension. Setting it ablaze would alert attention they were avoiding, just as leaving an abandoned Konoha air balloon in the open sand would.

Tobirama turned his head to watch the spectacle with a keen eye. He had surmised that the one called Obito was an Uchiha based off looks, but him possessing the Mangekyō certainly was a feat. It was unsurprising that Saru and the Yondaime wanted him to become the fifth with such an intriguing ability.

—and this also left the question of the silver-haired man. He had stated ‘our’ when speaking of the Mangekyō, yet he had no outward Uchiha appearance.

Perhaps, Tobirama thought as he glanced the two over, observing their dual covered eyes, the white-haired one possessed an implanted Sharingan. Though, Tobirama could hardly conceive the idea that an Uchiha would willingly give up their eye when they were not upon their deathbed.

“We aren’t far from Suna, despite the storm that blew us off course,” Tobirama started, once again staring out at the expanse of sand in front of him.

The crunch of sand under the new standard Konoha sandals confirmed that the other two had stepped after him, prompting Tobirama to quicken his pace. He would question about their situation on their journey in the direction of Suna.

“So,” the rumble of the Nidaime’s voice was deep as Obito and Kakashi traveled close together, trading glances every so often. They had heard many stories of the Senju, none of which bode well for Obito.

“What are your names? I never caught them, as you were both late to the mission prep.”

Obito and Kakashi silently caught each other’s eyes. Of course they were late — Obito had become caught up with helping train an Uchiha child while Kakashi was late due to his own fault. They still hadn’t broken routine, after all these years.

“I’m Kakashi Hatake,” said man began, warily watching the Senju for a reaction to his last name.

Tobirama hardly twitched at the mention of the Hatake clan name, huffing under his breath. “A Hatake? I’m surprised to see you still exist. When your clan joined Konoha, you were so few. Even less than the Senju by the time I took the Hokage position.”

Kakashi pressed his mouth into a thin line under his mouth. The Nidaime meant no harsh words by what he said, but it still hurt to be reminded that he was the last of his clan. “Well, you are talking to the last of the Hatake, anyhow.”

Silence held for a few moments before Tobirama spoke.

“Well, do you plan on continuing the bloodline?”

Obito and Kakashi shared a glance before the latter sighed. “No, I’m not so interested in doing that.”

Rather than dwell on the Hatake’s vague wording — Tobirama understood just what the other was referring too, despite the nonspecific explanation — he instead chose to move onto addressing the other shinobi, the Uchiha.

“And the other, you are Obito Uchiha, I understand?”

Obito mutely nodded before realizing the Nidaime would be unable to see the motion. “Ah, yes. That’s me.”

Once again, conversation dropped as Kakashi and Obito flanked the Nidaime from behind. However, Obito was too curious for his own wellbeing — he had a reanimated hokage just before him! He had to ask questions.

“Pardon if this comes out as rude,” Obito began, ignoring the way Kakashi sent him the very obvious hand sign to Not Speak. “I thought you weren’t the biggest fan of the Uchiha? I was surprised that you agreed to come with us.”

Tobirama huffed at the question, loud enough for the other two to hear. “I wasn’t the biggest fan of Madara and those not loyal to the village. Your clan just happens to hold many of the latter.” He swiveled his head to glare down at the two. “However, those whose loyalty lies with Konoha I trust. Kagami Uchiha was someone I held in high regard, and I met with his descendant, Shisui just before I left to join you on this mission. He would make a fine hokage candidate in the future.”

Taken aback by the harsh response, Obito faltered his pace and was half towards face-planting into the sand below before Kakashi caught him with a hand around his waist. Tobirama’s feet skidded as they he stopped his stride, turning to face the duo.

“What,” Tobirama began, quirking an eyebrow in amusement. “Did you think I accompanied you out to the Land of Wind to specifically eliminate you just for being an Uchiha?”

“Well. . .” Obito sheepishly started, refusing to meet the Nidaime’s gaze. “I had my questions.”

“Obito, stop being ridiculous,” Kakashi said, straightening the Uchiha. “I’m sure he joined us for a reason that doesn’t involving killing a perfectly capable Konoha asset.”

Rather than immediately respond, Tobirama gave the two half a second to recover before continuing forward, slowing their pace a fraction in case another falter.

“My reasons for joining you are my own. However, you may know that one of said reasons is to clean up Saru’s mess.”

Confused by the name, Kakashi took it upon himself to question further. “Saru? As in, Sarutobi?”

Tobirama nodded in agreement. “Yes, Hiruzen Sarutobi. I was told the place to which we are headed may hold Saru’s student who went rogue. He was too soft-hearted to deal with this Orochimaru himself, so I will do it for him while I am bound back to this land.”

Gauging the other’s expressions, Tobirama watched them through narrow eyes before sighing. “It’s been fifty years since I last stepped foot in the Land of Wind. Do you know how many settlements are close to Suna?” He questioned, crouching to press a palm against the scalding sand.

  
“Not many, if any at all,” Kakashi stated. “Most towns congregate near a water source, but Suna is an anomaly since they can conjure water via skilled suiton users. Any town near to Suna isn’t going to last long without water.”

Shifting to stand, Tobirama wiped his gritty palm against the side of his pants. “Well, then it is certainly interesting to note that there is a large congregation of non-shinobi chakra near to Suna just North-West of here. Someone is keeping them supplied there as cover.”

“Orochimaru?”

“Who else could it be,” Obito sarcastically retorted. “Nevertheless, I can get us there faster than our current pace. If I only Kamui a certain distance and then let you sense which direction we should head, Nidaime-sama, we can be there within a few minutes at most.”

Tobirama nodded, crossing his arms. “Sounds like a decent plan.”

With a nod of confirmation from Kakashi, Obito hesitantly placed a hand on the Nidaime’s shoulder and used his other to grasp Kakashi’s wrist, guiding them to stand in front of his face. The plan was worth a shot.

The air warped as he pulled the three of them into Kamui, feet touching the ground of the alternate dimension for half a second before he shifted them back out, aiming to land a further distance in the desert than they once were.

Once their feet rested in the sand once again, Tobirama knelt down, pressing a hand to it. “Head more East. We over-shot them. However, we’re closer than before.”

Obito nodded as the Nidaime stood, placing his hand back on the other’s shoulder.

This pattern continued until the sight of buildings were on the edge of their vision.

“I know this town,” Kakashi said, blinking in surprise. “I’ve passed through here before — I believe it was called Himeji.”

Tobirama crossed his arms, face impassive. “There are definitely people underground. Do you remember anything about this area in particular?”

Kakashi shook his head in response. “I’m afraid not. Obito, can you get us directly outside of the town?”

The Uchiha followed Kakashi’s, words, using Kamui to place them down just behind a seemingly deserted building, voices of civilians echoing from deeper within the town.

“What do we do now? I can get us underground with ease.” Obito questioned, stepping back to remove his grasp from the other two.

“No,” Tobirama started. “Find a child.”

Turning their heads, Kakashi and Obito stared at Tobirama.

“You aren’t seriously suggesting we forcefully take information from a CHILD?” Obito protested. Was the Nidaime as cold-blooded as the stories made him out to be?

“Excuse me? Of course not,” Tobirama began, frowning. “Believe it or not, I had six genin for a reason. I will talk to the child — you two stay hidden. A child is much less likely to sound some kind of alarm than an adult is. Let us learn some information about the area before the teleport blind into this hideout.”

Obito’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. Right, maybe the Senju had a point.

“Before that, do you sense any large chakra signatures below? Orochimaru is one of the Sannin, and has massive reserves. His chakra should be distinct,” Kakashi questioned.

Pausing, Tobirama tilted his head to the side in confusion. “No, I would have immediately noticed if there was an enemy of immense skill below. It seems Orochimaru isn’t at this hideout in particular. Despite that, let us investigate. He may have left clues as to where he went.”

A kunai appeared in Tobirama’s hand as he jabbed it into the sandstone below their feet.

“Stay here, but hide yourselves. I’ll be back with someone to talk to.”

With that, the Nidaime body flickered away from the sight of the two Jōnin.

A beat passed, and Kakashi locked eyes with Obito before sighing. “Fine, I’ll hide us underground,” he said, weaving hand signs after a nod of confirmation from his partner.

The two hardly waited more than a minute before the Nidaime flickered into existence above his kunai, carrying a young child on his back.

Well, Tobirama certainly was quick in finding information.

Sandy-blonde hair coupled with wide, brown eyes and ragged clothes defined the young girl as Tobirama gently let her down.

“Thank you mister! I knew red-eyed people performed miracles, just as everyone said!”

Tobirama titled an eyebrow up. It was certainly interesting that the child was so quick to approach him — generally, the gray sclera turned people away in fear, especially combined with his odd dress in the desert.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” he began, crouching to become eye-level with the girl, “what is your name?”

“My name is Aimi!” She exclaimed. “Can I have a hug?”

Obito had to stifle his laughter from underground. Muted as the voices he heard may be, he couldn’t imagine some young child willingly wanting a hug from the best suiton user in history, much less said person accept the request for a hug.

Blinking in surprise, Tobirama carefully nodded. Her appearance noted towards neglect from parents, if not outright her being an orphan. He would think, in this time period, the shinobi system would’ve have been fixed to not only eliminate child soldiers as Hashirama had, but also prevented such tragedies that would be the cause of an orphaned child.

As Aimi rocketed forward to throw her arms around Tobirama’s neck, the Nidaime searched for words to ask.

“So, Aimi,” he began. “What is so special about those with red eyes?”

“Everyone in the town knows those with red eyes are special! Serpent said so,” Aimi babbled. “I mean, that must be why Serpent wants red eyes.”

Serpent. Another translation of Orochimaru — the child must not know how to pronounce the complicated name.

“Who is Serpent?” Tobirama pressed.

Aimi shoved her face into the fluffy of Tobirama’s collar, giggling. “He’s our protector, mommy says. He gives us water to survive without the needing a source! And his friend, Helmet, cures our sick. My mommy says that as long as I listen to passing sand ninja and tell her what I hear, we could live forever! I like it when mommy listens to me.”

The name Helmet downturned Tobirama’s lips. He was uncertain of who that could be — an associate of Orochimaru’s, perhaps?

“Alright, thank you for telling me Aimi,” he said, gently wrapping his arms around her to pick her up. “We’re going to go on another ride and I’ll return you home. Hold on to my collar.”

Aimi swiftly nodded, sticking a thumb in her mouth to suck on with one hand and using her other to first in Tobirama’s fur collar.

In a flash of light, Tobirama blinked from the area, just seconds before Kakashi and Obito burst from the ground.

“I think I’m getting lightheaded from the lack of oxygen,” Obito bemoaned, holding his head in his hands.

“Suffer through it. I’m just amazed that the Nidaime gets along so well with children,” Kakashi retorted.

Obito shifted to glare at Kakashi with his eye. “That’s because kids don’t like you, and you’re just jealous.”

“As if,” Kakashi began. “My genin team loved me, I don’t know what you’re talking—”

Light flashed as Tobirama teleported back into the area, staring impassively at the bickering partners.

“You heard the conversation with the child, yes?”

Obito straightened up, face heating in embarrassment of being caught acting so unprofessional around the Nidaime. “Yes, we did. If she was talking about Orochimaru, her attitude toward ‘red-eyed’ individuals isn’t so odd. Orochimaru is known for trying to get ahold of my clan’s eyes.”

“Great.” Tobirama sighed. “You Uchiha are far more trouble than you are worth with your cursed eyes. A madman who wants the Sharingan. How fun.”

“But didn’t you used to dissect—” Obito started before Kakashi clamped a hand over his mouth.

As the Uchiha struggled to pull the arm away from his face, Tobirama tensed, swiftly drawing his sword from his side.

“We have guests.”

The clang of metal floated in the air as Tobirama parried a kunai thrown at his two teammates, shifting to face the direction the weapon was thrown from.

Obito blinked, eye spinning into the Sharingan. He was thankful Tobirama was so fast — his physical speed even faster than Minato’s. However, Obito doesn’t doubt his sensei would have been faster when using ninjutsu.

Kakashi had already latched himself to a wall with chakra-ladden steps, barreling up the building with a kunai in hand.

Following in his partner’s steps, Obito warped himself into Kamui just before he witnessed Tobirama toss a kunai up the side of the building.

It was simple enough to step back out of Kamui near to their enemies, digging shuriken out of his pouch to let fly. However, as he did so, he was surprised to find the two masked figures ignore him and Kakashi, and instead barrel straight toward the flash of light that signaled Tobirama’s Hiraishin.

Strange, still, that they forewent any weapons, and instead held pieces of paper within their grasp — a seal of some type?

Tobirama, assessing the odd situation, instead chose to toss another kunai, but instead of the weapon embedding itself within the flesh of an enemy, it dove straight towards Obito.

Obito blinked. What the in the world was the Senju doing?

Kamui started to warp on instinct, and just before the kunai was sucked into the alternate dimension, Tobirama teleported to it, just out of reach of the enemy seals.

“Incapacitate them!” Tobirama shouted as he was shifted into the other dimension.

As the Nidaime’s voice faded, Obito dove for the side as a katon fireball was spit his way. Kakashi, however, was locked in close-combat with one of the enemies, sparks flashing as kunai flashed.

  
A kunai of his own spun on Obito’s finger as he released it from a pouch, assessing the shuriken sticking from the legs of his opponent. That would slow his speed.

In an instant, Obito was traveling through Kamui to place himself behind the masked enemy, digging his kunai into the back of the neck of the shinobi.

The shuffle of feet behind him gave Obito just enough warning to make himself intangible before a kunai went through his stomach, the enemy stumbling without force to stop himself. A second kunai dug into the back of the gurgling masked shinobi as the two enemies collapsed, one lifeless as the other haphazardly pushed himself up to escape.

Kakashi’s leg hooked under the enemy to flip him on his back as the Hatake leaned down to rip the bloodied kunai from the dead enemy, flipping it once before bringing it down to slice through the remaining shinobi’s neck.

Blood spilled from the masked ninja’s neck as he gasped for breath, movements progressively becoming slower until he stopped twitching altogether.

Pants were the only sounds atop the building as Kakashi and Obito surveyed the scene, glancing around for any more enemy nin.

“Where, ah, where is the Nidaime?” Kakashi questioned, eyebrows furrowing as he now fully had the time to examine the dead shinobi. They possessed Konoha anbu masks, of all things.

Obito’s eye spun as Tobirama was ejected from the Kamui dimension, landing quietly next to the bodies. Kakashi crouched down to remove the masks of the shinobi as the Senju stood, dusting himself off.

“Apologies for disappearing on you two. They were targeting me for a reason, and it was best case scenario I kept myself out of it. Those papers seem to be seals that will forcefully reverse my jutsu,” Tobirama began, casting a glance at Kakashi who was still patting down the bodies. “And those are Konoha anbu, are they not? I designed their uniforms, after all.”

“They are Konoha anbu, but the question is — why attack us?” Obito questioned, circling the bodies as his sharingan spun to examine them.

Snorting, Kakashi held out a hand to stop his partner from moving. “Easy, they’re from ROOT.”

To further his words, Kakashi maneuvered the jaw of one of the shinobi’s open, and pulled out a blood-soaked tongue where the inked ROOT seal sat.

Obito crouched next to the Hatake as Kakashi released the tongue, staring up at the Nidaime, expression stricken. “They were trying to seal you away, Senju-sama.”

“That much I’ve gathered, but what is ROOT?” Tobirama questioned, crossing his arms as his brows furrowed in thought. This branch must have been developed after his death, for he had no memory of it. It also didn’t explain why a Konoha nin would actively be trying to seal away one of their own Hokage.

“It’s a branch of the anbu Danzō runs. He was your student, right?” Obito said, staring up at the Nidaime, expression calculating.

Tobirama frowned. Saru had briefly mentioned the state of all of his student’s — Kagami’s death not long after his own, Torifu’s retirement, Homura and Koharu’s advisement positions — but he never did tell of Danzō’s current life. He had assumed that he had died like Kagami, and Saru has wished not to speak of it.

“Yes, he was. But if it is a branch that Danzō runs, what business does he have attempting to seal me away? I would assume he would have been glad to see me return for the time,” Tobirama stated. Certainly, he knew Danzō leaned toward darker plots on how to upkeep the village, but something likes this, Tobirama thought was beyond his student.

Kakashi and Obito shared a glance before the latter sighed. “I’ve had my own suspicion for a while now, but I think Danzō is the one who fuels Orochimaru. For information or distraction, we don’t know. However, Danzō must know that if you tag your Hiraishin on Orochimaru, there is no escape for him. Kamui has limitations, though. If we don’t know where he is, we can’t get to him. They were trying to get you out of the picture.”

Tobirama hummed — interesting information. He would need to talk with both Saru, for not seeing Danzō’s current faults, and Danzō himself, about this.

“One of you get rid of the bodies. There are no civilians are nearby, if you’re worried. I’m going to search for an entrance, as I feel chakra signatures below.”

Obito sighed as the Nidaime disappeared into a blur. “I can kamui them, but you have to clean them out of the dimension later, Kakashi.”

“I did that last time,” Kakashi complained, crossing his arms. “Just set them on fire.”

“Setting them on fire will attract someone!”

“Senju-sama just said no one was around though.”

“Like I said, it will attract someone, Bakashi!”

“Fine,” Kakashi stated. “Just take the bodies with you into kamui and set it on fire.”

“Wh—” Obito spluttered. That was a good plan, and probably the best course of action, but he couldn’t let Kakashi think he won.

“You do it then, if that’s such a brilliant idea!”

Obito hated that Kakashi’s single eye could express so much disappointment at his statement.

  
Grumbling under his breath, Obito grabbed the arms of the bodies. Damn Kakashi and his fatigue at using the Mangekyō.

As Obito swirled out of view, Tobirama flickered back onto the building, staring down at Kakashi with a frown.

“The child we spoke with is underground. We have little time before someone is alerted we are here. Where is the Uchiha?”

Said person warped out of the air, dropping down besides Kakashi. “I heard what you said, but how do you know?”

Tobirama gave Obito a blank stare. “I’m a sensor.”

Obito sheepishly turned his head to the side. He had a feeling he was becoming closer to being on the Nidaime’s bad side.

Taking the lead, Obito once again shifted Tobirama and Kakashi in front of himself, warping them down into the cavern system below their feet.

The area they stepping into was dim, lit only by candles piked to the wall. Clearly, it was a cave system of some sort.

“One moment,” Tobirama said, placing his palm against the wall. Removing his hand revealed the symbol for his Hiraishin.

“Follow me,” he quickly instructed, setting pace down the trailing halls.

It didn’t take long for the team to step into a brightened area, floor covered with pieces of furniture and trinkets. Tobirama almost balked at the pieces of research he saw strewn about — if he hadn’t known they came from a questionable source, he would have taken the opportunity to glance it over.

“Mr. Red-Eyes!”

Tobirama glanced to the side to see Aimi rush up to his side, clinging to his leg.

“I told Helmet about you! He left after that, but I’m sure he’s getting Serpent to see you now!”

Kakashi whispered towards Obito, “Helmet is probably Kabuto Yakushi. He must have left knowing we were here. This town is sure to die without Orochimaru’s support now that he knows we’ve discovered one of his hideout.”

“Nidaime-sama,” Obito began, placing a hand on Tobirama’s shoulder, grabbing his attention away from the young girl. “This place has been abandoned by Orochimaru. Let’s quickly return to Konoha and gather a force to sweep this place for information.”

Tobirama stared, before sighing. “As we must. I have a mark within Hokage Tower, let us go.”

Removing Aimi from his leg, he sent a soft smile to the young girl. “We will be back, wait for us here,” he requested, watching the child give him a wide grin before running off to sit elsewhere.

“Alright,” Tobirama started, placing his hands on Obito and Kakashi’s shoulders. “Let us return, but you two may know my other reason for joining you.”

Kakashi tilted his eyebrow in question. Another reason?

“I’m recommending you two to the Yondaime to be joint Godaime.”

The Jōnin blanched as Tobirama gave them an amused smile. “I was requested to join you by the Yondaime to assess you while I am still bound to this Earth. I believe you two would be fit to be Hokage.”

Obito opened his mouth to protest.

A flash of white light signaled their disappearance.


End file.
